And of course, you should definitely take my free quiz to find out the #1 task that you need to outsource to not only free up your time – but to give you the space to focus on revenue-generating tasks in your business.

How to Manage Your VA and Projects Tip 1: Use a project management tool

Overwhelm is the enemy of efficiency, and nothing is more overwhelming than a flooded inbox. (OK, that might be an overstatement … but you know what I mean! Email overwhelm is for real!)

Even if you’re a naturally organized person, attempting to funnel team communication through email is a losing battle. Replies get missed, attachments get lost, deadlines get pushed, clients get cranky. Bad news all around.

So instead, invest in a project management tool for your team. You’ll get simplified communication, easy and transparent task assignment, automated reminders, multiple project visibility, and file sharing all in one place. Instead of pestering freelancers for updates, you can just hop on the program and see for yourself how much progress they’ve made.

I personally love and use Basecamp to manage my team and projects.

How to Manage Your VA and Projects Tip 2: Use a shared calendar

The work itself isn’t all that needs to be tracked and managed: If you’ve got a fleet of contractors supporting you, it helps to know when they’ll be out of town and when they’re available for overtime.

Some project management programs include calendar functions, but you may also want to use a shared calendar with project due dates so you can get a visual snapshot of everyone’s workloads and conflicts.TeamUp and Keep & Share are both favorites for teams spread across multiple time zones.

How to Manage Your VA and Projects Tip 3: Hire a project manager

Depending on your budget and project load, you could also consider hiring a project manager to monitor team assignments. Dedicating a contractor to workflow management may sound like a luxury, but if you’ve tried everything else and work is STILL falling through the cracks, getting support from an expert can be an absolute life-saver.

Some teams do fine monitoring their own work through an online interface and giving periodic updates, but others only thrive when there’s a single person keeping everyone on-task.

And you don’t need to hire someone full-time! Your project manager can dedicate as a little as a couple of hours a week to keep your projects moving forward – especially if you are using a project management system to keep everything organized.

How to Manage Your VA and Projects Tip 4: Divide your work strategically

While it’s true that some contractors can handle a wide variety of tasks, they all specialize in something. Some are amazing at content creation, others handle sales, and still others excel at graphics. When you’re assigning work, always make sure that you’re giving the right tasks to the right person.

Don’t ask your customer service person to design a landing page. It’s probably not in her skill set, which means she’ll take twice as long to complete the project and be a stressed-out mess the whole time. When each team member is working in her zone of genius, you’ll have a far easier time keeping things rolling.

How to Manage Your VA and Projects Tip 5: Plan ahead

Know who loves urgent deadlines and surprise projects? No one! And that includes your team members!

You’ll never be able to foresee every work emergency, but you can always aim to plan ahead as far as possible. If you constantly force your freelancers to juggle unexpected tasks, they’ll burn out fast. To keep them happy and productive, do your best to forecast their workloads as many weeks or months into the future as humanly possible!

The best way to build a team that does great work—on time, all the time—is to create ideal circumstances for them. Remove roadblocks, enable easy communication, and give them tasks they excel at doing.

Put these 5 tips into action, and you’ll empower your contractors to perform at their absolute best!

Hey gorgeous! I'm Melissa. I'm an entrepreneur, mom to two teens and a dog, and married to the love of my life.

I help women entrepreneurs learn how to outsource tasks and systems in their business to not only free up their time - but to give them the space to focus on revenue-generating tasks. I share outsourcing tips and ideas here on the blog, as well as how to hire a va and other team members.

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About Melissa

Hey gorgeous! I'm Melissa. I'm an entrepreneur, mom to two teens and a dog, and married to the love of my life.

I'm an outsourcing strategist for women entrepreneurs who are sick of struggling to get everything on their to-do list done while also growing their business and income. Hiring help will free up more of your time to focus on your big vision and the actual creation of your dream business. You'll be able to earn more, reach more, and have the freedom you crave.

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About Melissa

Hello gorgeous, it's Melissa Ingold and I'm so happy you're here! I work with creative women entrepreneurs who are tired of giving up their sacred creation time to attend to the boring duties of running a business.

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Legal Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to accurately represent our programs and its potential. The testimonials and examples used are exceptional results, do not apply to the average purchaser, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results. In fact, no guarantees are made that you will achieve results from our ideas and techniques in our material. Each individual's success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire, and motivation. As with any business endeavour, there is an inherent risk of loss of capital and there is no guarantee that you will earn any money.

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